International

Honduras' Ministry of Foreign Relations today announced that it considering closing its embassies in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela -- countries that have refused to recognize the government of President Porfirio Lobo. All five South American nations, which are members of the United Nations of South America (Unasur), broke diplomatic relations with Honduras following the overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, 2009. The governments of Cristina Fernández, Evo Morales, Dilma Rousseff, Rafael Correa, and Hugo Chávez have stated that they will not recognize the Lobo administration until Mr. Zelaya is allowed to return to Honduras from his self-exile in the Dominican Republic without the threat of prosecution for alleged crimes of corruption. The Honduran government would use the cost savings from the closings to establish commercial offices in Canada, China, India, and Singapore. The proposal to close the embassies is under review by Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati, who noted, "It is better to have friends than enemies." (3/15/11) (photo of Mario Canahauti courtesy Internet)

The following is a copy of a confidential cable written by United States Acting Ambassador to Costa Rica Peter Brennan on October 16, 2009 regarding the visit to Costa Rica of US Southern Command (Soutcom) Civilian Deputy Commander Ambassador Paul Trivelli on October 6-7, 2009 to meet with senior members of the Costa Rican government, including President Óscar Arias. While the cable focused primarily on the theme of US support for anti drug trafficking efforts, it referred briefly to the political crisis in Honduras following the overthrow of Manuel Zelaya as president. Acting Ambassador Brennan noted that President Arias "believed that US visa revocations of senior de facto government officials was having an affect". According to Mr. Brennan, President Arias "encouraged the [US government] to further its visa sanctions against some former Honduran presidents who were 'siding' with [interim President Roberto] Micheletti and four 'well-known' businessmen involved with the June 28 removal of Zelaya from power. Arias believed that further pressure on the de facto Honduran government might push them towards signing the San José Accord".

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In March 2009, Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi named a new 11,000-seat soccer stadium in the Libyan town of Baninah (east of Benghazi) after Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez "in recognition of his revolutionary program in Venezuela and his role in the future of South America". The act was symbolic of the close friendship between Col. Qaddafi and and President Chávez, who was the recipient of the al-Qaddafi International Prize for Human Rights in 2004 for battling against "the effects of imperialism and the enemies of freedom inside and outside" Venezuela. Mr. Chávez reciprocated with a gesture of his own in September 2009 when he presented Mr. Qaddafi with a replica of Simón Bolívar's sword, inlaid with precious stones. He called Mr. Qaddafi "one of the greatest leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries in the struggle against imperialism". The award of the sword of the "Liberator" was established in honor of South America's 19th century hero of the national liberation struggle against Spain. It is Venezuela's highest honor. On Monday, the Libyan National Council, representing the pro-democracy rebels in that country, changed the name of the arena from “Hugo Chávez Football Stadium” to “February Martyrs Stadium”. The change was made at the request of the local population. (3/9/11) (photo of the former Hugo Chávez Football Stadium courtesy Internet)

There is growing bipartisan support in the United States Congress for enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent attacks against pro-democracy rebels by Libyan government warplanes. In a counter-offensive against rebels during the past week, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi ordered airstrikes against the oil port of Brega and the oil refinery in the city of Ras Lanuf. Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and John McCain (R-AZ) are among the Congressional leaders pushing President Barack Obama to consider US military operations in Libya. Asked if Col. Qaddafi knew his time had come, Senator McCain responded, "he's insane," but that may be a no-fly zone would inspire some of the people around him to "depart the sinking ship". The Obama administration has been reluctant to the idea for fear of involving the US in what is quickly evolving into a civil war in Libya. The US is already engaged in two distant wars in Muslim nations, with 150,000 troops continuing to battle in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Pentagon under pressure to reduce spending in light of growing budget deficits and an out of control national debt.

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A new book about Abraham Lincoln, based on recently uncovered documents by authors Philip Magness and Sebastian Page found at the British National Archives near London and in the US National Archives in Washington, DC, is stirring renewed controversy about the racial views and legacy of the 16th President of the United States. The book, "Colonization After Emancipation", contains comments made by President Lincoln in 1862 urging free black men and women to leave the US and settle in Central America. "For the sake of your race, you should sacrifice something of your present comfort for the purpose of being as grand in that respect as the white people," said Mr. Lincoln, promoting the idea of resettling blacks in foreign countries. According to the book, Mr. Lincoln said that free blacks who wanted to live permanently in the US were being "selfish", and he promoted Central America as an ideal area for them to colonize "especially because of the similarity of climate with your native land -- thus being suited to your physical condition". The fifth US president, James Monroe, also supported the idea of resettlement of free blacks. In 1821-1822, thousands of former US slaves resettled in Africa and founded the nation of Liberia. (3/6/11) (photo of Abraham Lincoln courtesy Internet)

Libyan leader Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi today accepted a plan by Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez to negotiate a solution to the growing conflict in Libya, which one human rights group in the country says has killed up to 6,000 people to date. According to Venezuela's Information Minister Andres Izzara, "Libya accepts the proposal to work for a negotiated end to the conflict accompanied by an international commission. Venezuela will continue its contacts in the Arab world and elsewhere to find formulas for peace in Libya." The plan calls for establishing a commission made up of representatives from Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East that would mediate talks between Col. Qaddafi and pro-democracy forces that are leading a popular uprising against him. The Al-Jazeera news service is reporting that the plan was struck between Mr. Chávez and Mr. Qaddafi. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom's The Guardian newspaper has quoted rebel spokesperson Abdul Hafif Goga as saying, "No one has told us a thing about it and we are not interested anyway." An AFP report quotes Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesperson for the opposition's national council, “We will never negotiate with anybody on the blood of our people. The only way we can negotiate with Chávez is if Qaddafi goes to Venezuela (for good). Then we’ll ask him to have Qaddafi back in Libya to be prosecuted by our justice.”

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The following is a copy of a confidential cable written by United States Ambassador to Libya Gene A. Cretz on January 4, 2009 regarding Nicaraguan President Daniel Orega's visit to Tripoli on December 19-22, 2008 to promote cooperation between Latin America and Africa with the government of Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi. The cable notes that the visit was "largely symbolic" and that President Ortega "devoted much of his visit trying to drum up cash for his political operation and investment in Nicaragua". Given recent speculation by the media that one of the reasons Mr. Ortega is publicly expressing solidarity with Mr. Qaddafi during the uprising against him in Libya may have something to do with a reported US$300 million provided to him by Mr. Qaddafi, Ambassador Cretz's comment that Mr. Ortega left Libya "empty-handed" is particularly interesting and relevant.

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In its 2010 Annual Report released today, the United Nations' (UN) International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said that it is concerned about increased illegal drug trafficking in Central America and Mexico and cites that 90 percent of the cocaine that reaches the United States flows through Mexico. The INCB recognizes that the amount of illegal drugs that is smuggled into North America has declined, but that the proportion of it that arrives from Central America, specifically Honduras and Guatemala, has increased. According to the report, "the drug problem facing Central America and the Caribbean has been exacerbated by endemic corruption, widespread poverty and high unemployment." It notes that the value of all drugs being shipped through the Caribbean "exceeds that of the legal economy" of the region, and that revenues from drug sales "have been used to bribe public officials, increasing corruption within government, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary and further undermining already weak institutions." (3/2/11)

As most of the world's governments have condemned the bloodshed in Libya this week, and specifically Libyan leader Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi's mass killing of pro-democracy protesters in his country, Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez has staked out an extremely tenuous position in the growing international crisis at a time when it appears that Col. Qaddafi is losing control. Responding yesterday to Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro's views that the United States government is seeking to create conditions in Libya to justify a military invasion of the country, President Chávez wrote on Twitter, "Way to go Foreign Minister Nicolás, teach a lesson to those ultra right-wing pitiyanquis ("little Yankees")! Long live Libya and its independence! Qaddafi is facing a civil war!" Mr. Maduro was echoing an accusation made by Cuba's Fidel Castro that the US is purposely fomenting unrest in Libya as an excuse to seize the country's oil reserves. Libya has proven oil reserves of 46.4 billion barrels -- the largest reserves in Africa and the ninth largest in the world.

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The government of Singapore yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide technical assistance to Honduras to design a commercial airport at Palmerola Air Base in Comayagua. The agreement was confirmed by Honduras' Minister for Public Works, Transportation and Housing Miguel Pastor. Mr. Pastor is part of a large delegation traveling with President Porfirio Lobo in Asia and the Middle East to attract private investment to Honduras, specifically as part of the Lobo administration's proposed "Model Cities" program. The delegation traveled to South Korea and Singapore this week. It flies to Kuwait today. There has been renewed support for construction of a new airport at Palmerola since the crash of a Central American Airways L-410 aircraft on February 14. The accident, which resulted in the death of all 14 passengers, occurred in bad weather as the aircraft was approaching to land at Tegucigalpa's Toncontín International Airport. More than 10 aircraft have crashed near Toncontín since 1989, leading many to speculate that the airport is inherently unsafe due to its relatively short runway and surrounding high mountains. (2/25/11)